Why Acupuncture Can Help You Through The Most Wonderful (And Stressful!) Time of the Year

It seems like each year the decorations go up earlier, the sales get pushed up a bit, and the radio stations start pumping out the same 8 songs over and over again before everyone’s even ready. But now there’s no escaping it—we’re officially in the throes that is the Holiday Season.

Even for those of us whom this is the best time of the year, the holidays are never not stressful. There’s lots of running around to see family and friends, work to get done before the calendar turns over, turkeys and desserts to be made, gifts to be bought. And for some out there, the hustle and bustle of the holidays can exacerbate our anxieties and lead to high stress.

It’s as good a time of year as ever to take advantage of acupuncture’s unique ability to help the body and mind relax, reduce anxiety, and operate at its peak. Acupuncture improves myriad bodily functions, particularly the nervous system which controls so much of how our mind feels and what response it creates in the body,

“Depending on where the needles go, acupuncture can cause the nervous system to produce painkilling chemicals, jump-start the body’s natural ability to heal itself, or stimulate the part of the brain that controls emotions, including anxiety,” writes Everyday Health.

The holidays are a time that can feel very go go go, where we don’t have as much time as we normally do to ourselves to recharge and relax. Acupuncture isn’t going to make your life less busy, but by regulating the body’s energy (or qi), consistent treatments can help you make the most of the time your body and mind is supposed to be is relaxing, like when you’re sleeping.

In a personal testimonial at You Beauty, writer Avital Norman Nathman shared, “I would always have the best sleep of the week the night after my acupuncture appointment. And I would also feel lighter. My chest wouldn’t be clenched as tightly and the raw current of anxiety that seems to continuously float just beneath the surface of my skin was dissipate for a while, allowing me to experience a semblance of normalcy, if only for a little while.

This year, let the holidays the special time of year they’re supposed to be by making acupuncture a regular part of your mental, physical, and emotional wellness routine.

Acupuncture Doesn't Just Help Cancer Patients, But Caregivers Too

Learning that a loved one has been diagnosed with cancer can be one of the most difficult things for someone to experience. It not only changes the life for the person who is fighting the battle themselves, but it can radically alter the life of those closes to them.

Depending on each situation, close family or friends may have to take a lot of time out of their schedule to help care for their loved one. Often times, caregivers can put forth such an effort in taking care of their loved one that their own self-care gets ignored. This can lea to a snowball effect, causing emotional stress as well as pain and discomfort.

The benefits of acupuncture for cancer patients reach far and wide. But it can also do wonders for those who are taking care of cancer patients, whether professionally or for somebody close to them. Tamera Anderson-Hanna, herself a cancer survivor, wrote on CureToday.com about her experiences as a caregiver for family who were also diagnosed with cancer, and how acupuncture became a crucial part of her self-care regimen.

Most of her discomfort was emotional, as she explains, “I was definitely experiencing stress with the news of family members being diagnosed with cancer after the new year and have found acupuncture has helped me to experience improved sleep and feeling less stressed as a caregiver.”

But as we know, emotional stress also takes its toll on the physical body. Tamera’s acupuncturist also treated her neck, which is where she was carrying most of her stress. Acupuncture helped Tamera “sleep better at night, assists in experiencing less pain or tension in my body and allows me to redirect my energy to a more positive focus and perspective, thus having more good energy.”

If you or anyone you know is experiencing emotional or physical distress from taking care of someone else, acupuncture isn’t just there for those who have been diagnosed with an illness. Caregivers must ensure they’re taken care of as well.

Acupuncturists Without Borders

You may have heard of Doctors Without Borders, but what about Acupuncturists Without Borders? 

Acupuncturists Without Borders (AWB) was founded by Diana Fried  immediately after Hurricanes Rita and Katrin in 2005. According to this Valley Advocate article the AWB, "provided free community acupuncture treatments to 8,000 people in Louisiana, including evacuees, residents, first responders, emergency personnel, volunteers and other care providers."

Most recently, AWB has now been helping Puerto Rican evacuees help to manage and treat their trauma. 

After the devastation that Hurricane Maria brought to Puerto Rico, many individuals lost everything, and have had to flee the country for safety. 

AWB member Verena Smith, an Amherst based acupuncturist, explained, “people who were directly hit by hurricanes – and their families and friends from Western Mass – surely are experiencing serious acute traumatic stress.  Folks may be having flashbacks, panic, insomnia, suicidal ideation, or any number of symptoms that can be relieved with simple treatments.“

Since acupuncture has been shown to help with anxiety, insomnia, depression and other symptoms, acupuncturists and AWB members Nancy Edwards and Dede King brought their services to a Springfield clinic to offer treatment to stressed evacuees within a shared treatment setting. The results?

The report explained, "people seemed a bit more jovial, perhaps the result of a positive shared experience or perhaps a result of the treatment. Regardless, the general mood seemed lighter; smiles spread across faces for the first time that evening."

It has been long known that acupuncture treatment, specifically targeted for trauma, can help to heal both physical and emotional pain, while balancing qi.